Plants for producing curved concrete ducts



p 1969 H. BERGESEN ETAL 3,465,394

PLANTS FOR PRODUCING CURVED CONCRETE DUCTS Filed May 26. 1966 a Sheets-Sheet 1.

Howard Bergesen Innis 0 Rourke, Jr.

I N VE N TOR S Attorney P 9, 1969 H. BERGESEN ETAL 3,

PLANTS FOR PRODUCING CURVED CONCRETE DUCTS Filed May 26. 1966 a Sheets-Sheet 2 Howard Bergesen Innis O'Rourke, Jr.

INVENTORS.

Attorney p 9, 1969 H. BERGESEN ETAL 3,465,394

PLANTS FOR PRODUCING CURVED CONCRETE DUCTS Filed May 26. 1966 8 sh'eets-sheez a Howard Bergeseh Innis ORourkqd mvsw'rons.

Attorney Sept. 9, 1969 H. BERGESEN ETAL 3,455,394

PLANTS FOR PRODUCING CURVED CONCRETE DUCTS 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed ma 26. 1966 p 9, 1.969 H. BERGESEN ETAL 3,465,394

PLANTS FOR PRODUCING CURVED CONCRETE DUCTS Filed May 26. 1966 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 w a I i 1 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII.

Hcvwarcl Bcrgesen Innis 0Rourke,Jt

INVEN'IORS.

Attorney p 1969 H. BERGESEN s'rm. 3 9

PLANTS FOR PRODUCING CURVED CONCRETE DUCTS Filed May 26. 1956 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 "HI lllll -39 ml-I l.lllllll Jill Howard Bcrgesen Innis OIiourke Jr INVENI'URS.

P 1969 H. BERGESEN EfAl. 3,465,394

PLANTS FOR PRODUCING CURVED CONCRETE DUCTS Filed May 26. 1966 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 Howard Bergesen Innis O'Rourke, Jr

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Attorney P 9, 1969 H. BERGESEN ETAL 3,465,394

PLANTS FOR PRODUCING CURVED CONCRETE DUCTS Filed May 26, 1966 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Howard Berg'esen Innis O'Rourke, Jr. i/W/EIHURS.

' Attorney United States Patent F 3,465,394 PLANTS FOR PRODUCING CURVED CONCRETE DUCTS Howard Bergesen, Valley Stream, N.Y., and Innis ORourke, Jr., Upper Brookville, N.Y.

Filed May 26, 1966, Ser. No. 553,146 Int. Cl. B28b /00 U.S. Cl. 2 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates to method and apparatus for the production of curved concrete ducts wherein an elongated boom carrying a packing tool is arcuately displaced in the mold cavity by swinging about a preselected axis.

Our present invention relates to apparatus for making concrete ducts in the general manner disclosed in commonly assignedUS. Patents Nos. 2,143,448, 2,143,449 and 2,148,873 issued to Innis ORourke, Jr. More particularly, it relates to the manufacture of bent pipe sections of the type described in our prior U.S. Patent No. 3,038,231 wherein a concrete shell is curved in a plane and is traversed by one or more arcuate bores with a common axis of curvature.

In the last-mentioned patent we have disclosed and claimed a system wherein a mold support, such as a turntable or an oscillatable platform, is displaced in timed relationship with a linear (e.g., descending and ascending) motion of a packing tool so that the tool and the mold carry out a relative motion along a curved line to form an arcuate channel in a mass of concrete composition poured into the mold. Such a system is quite practical as long the ducts to be manufactured are all of the same size and curvature; the relatively intricate coupling required between the means for displacing the tool and the mold support is, however, difficult to adjust to enable the production of different shapes.

It is, therefore, the general object of our present invention to provide an improved apparatus, for the purpose described, which does not require a movement of the mold support during the shaping operation and which can be conveniently adapted to the formation of arcuate channels with various radii of curvature.

A plant for the production of curved concrete ducts in accordance with the present improvement comprises a carrier member, such as an elongated boom, swingable about a substantially horizontal axis and carrying one or more generally vertical shafts each with a packing tool at a location remote from that axis, the number of shafts and tools corresponding to the number of channels to be formed simultaneously in a concrete body or bodies to be molded. Each shaft should be long enough to enable endwise introduction of its tool, conveniently from above, into a mold provided for this purpose with an open end. After the mold has been filled with concrete composition, in the general manner taught in the above-identified prior patents, the packing tool is arcuately displaced in the mold cavity by a swinging of its carrier member on the axis thereof so that a channel curved about that axis is formed within the concrete mass which is concurrently compacted by the tool, between the latter and the mold wall, along the periphery of the channel.

The swingable carrier member, particularly if designed as a boom, may be fitted with a plurality of journal pins or gudgeons, spaced apart in longitudinal direction of the boom, which may be alternately supported in suitable bearings on a base for allowing changes in the radius of channel curvature by selectively swinging the carrier memher about one or the other of the fulcra so constituted.

3,465,394 Patented Sept. 9, 1969 According to another feature of our invention, the mold support is mounted on an intermittently rotatable turntable carrying it in succession through a molding station for the formation of a channeled body as described above, a reaming station for the finishing of the terminations of the duct, and a removal station where the mold support can be swung into a substantially horizontal position before the mold is opened to enable the formed duct to be lifted out. The ends of the molded body may be defined, in a manner generally disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Patent No. 2,143,449, by so-called top and/or bottom hats which are apertured to enable the passage of respective reaming implements, e.g. at the aforementioned reaming station located between the molding and removal stations, and which advantageously are pivotally secured to the mold proper for outward swinging about axes offset from the centerline of the mold in the direction of the center of curvature of the mold cavity, this pivotal mounting facilitating the removal of the hats from the extremities of the arcuate mold body.

Another feature of our invention, designed to enhance the compacting of the duct wall by the receding packing tool, resides in a construction of this tool as a combination of a generally cylindrical troweling head at the end of its shaft and one or more helical blades or wings on the shaft immediately adjoining this head, the blades defining one or more helical flutes (two such flutes being formed, preferably, by two interleaved blades of like pitch spaced apart) which communicate with respective recesses in a confronting transverse surface of the head; each of these recesses is faired laterally outwardly, with a helicoidal pitch substantially corresponding to that of the blades, into the periphery of the head so as to form a progressively shallower trailing portion (as viewed in the direction of shaft rotation) which distributes the oncoming concrete material onto the channel wall and compacts it as the head recedes from its position of deepest penetration. For the forming of curved channels this head should be suitably barrel-shaped, yet the same type of recess may also be used on exactly cylindrical heads designed for producing straight bores. The maximum diameter of the head should, in any event, be slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the helical blade or blades.

Our invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of an apparatus for making curved ducts in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, drawn to a larger scale, on the line IIIIII of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, taken on the line IVIV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a detail view taken on the line VV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an end view of an open mold, taken on the line VIVI of FIG. 2 but drawn to a larger scale;

FIG. 7 is elevational view (parts broken away) of a packing tool forming part of the apparatus shown in the preceding figures;

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of a blade carrier forming part of this tool, taken on the line VIIIVIII of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a top View of the blade carrier, taken on the line IXIX of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of .a troweling head forming part of the tool, taken on the line X-X of FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a side view of the troweling head, taken at right angles to the view of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 12 is a top view of the troweling head, taken on the line XII--XII of FIG. 11.

A general description of our improved apparatus will first be given with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The apparatus comprises a turn table intermittently rotatable, by means of a motor 21 having a vertical shaft 22, about the axis of that shaft into three angular positions spaced 120 apart. A prismatic casing 23 of equilaterally triangular outline, rigid with turntable 20, supports on each of its three vertical faces a respective mold which in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6 has been generally designated 24, the three molds being individually identified by numerals 24a, 24b, 240 in FIGS. 1 and 2. A molding station A, a reaming station B and a removal station C are disposed at 120 intervals around the turntable 20 which, as viewed from above in FIG. 2, rotates 240 are positioned at work stations A, B .and C, respectively, the turntable being held stationary as each mold undergoes an operation characteristic of the corresponding work station.

As best seen in FIG. 3, each mold 24 is swingably mounted on the casing 23 with the aid of a horizontal shaft 25 journaled in a bearing 26 which projects outwardly from the confronting casing wall. This arrangement enables the mold to be swung between a generally vertical position (FIG. 3), in which its own centerline lies in a plane that includes the axis of shaft 22, into a horizontal position (FIG. 4). As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, molds 24a and 24b are in their vertical position whereas mold 24c lies horizontal. The swing from one position into the other is performed by means of a hydraulic cylinder 27, individual to the mold, whose piston rod 47 is articulated to a lever 28 rigid with mold shaft 25 and which is pivoted at 29 to the inner wall of casing 23 (see also FIG. 5). Flexible conduits 30, passing partly within the casing 23, serve for the actuation of the cylinder 27 and other hydraulic units, described hereinafter, under the control of a suitable timer (not shown) in step with the intermittent energization of motor 21.

At station A, where the mold 24a is upright, the open top of the mold is overlain by .a funnel 31 to which a measured amount of hardenable material, such as moist concrete, can be delivered from a hopper 32. Above the funnel 31, and normally withdrawn therefrom, a packing tool 33 at the lower end of a shaft 34 is suspended from a boom 35 which is swingable in a vertical plane passing through the axes of shaft 22 and mold 24a. Shaft 34 is driven by a motor 36 which is adjustably mounted, via a bracket 37, on the free end of boom 35 whose opposite end is provided with a pair of laterally projecting gudgeons 38 cradled in bearings 39 that are supported on posts 40 rising from a base 41. Two alternate sets of posts 40' and 40", carrying bearings 39' and 39", are positioned on the base 41 at shorter distances from the turntable axis, the boom 35 having three pairs of bosses 42, 42, 42" to which the gudgeons 38 may be alternatively attached for selectively pivoting the boom in bearings 39, 39' or 39" to vary its effective length and, thereby, the swing radius of tool 33. To raise and lower the boom, a piston rod projecting from the lower end of a hydraulic cylinder 44 is linked to the free end of the boom adjacent motor 36, the cylinder 44 being in turn swingable about a bar 45 mounted in a fixed overhead support (not shown).

In the operation of the molding station A, the boom 35 is first lowered to introduce its tool 33 by way of funnel 31 into the aligned mold 24a, the tool 33 being allowed to descend to the very bottom of the mold (with motor 36 turned off) to plug the lower end thereof. Next, hopper 32 is actuated to deliver enough concrete to the mold to fill the cavity surrounding the shaft 34 above tool 33, whereupon motor 36 is set in motion while cylinder 44 is operated to withdraw the rotating tool slowly from the mold so as to compact the concrete therein and shape the inner wall surface of a channeled workpiece 46 (FIGS. 3, 4, 6) constituting an arcuately curved duct section.

The upper and lower ends of the mold are formed by a pair of so-called top and bottom hats 48', 48" which are of identical construction, it being assumed that the machine here described is intended to produce duct sections with two male terminations; reference may be made to the aforementioned Patents Nos. 2,143,449 and 2,148,873 for a description of structural modifications that may be made if either or both ends of the duct section are to be female. As best seen in FIG. 3, the hats 48 are hinged to the mold 24 at 49, 49" and can be swung outwardly, toward the concave side of the mold curvature, by hydraulic cylinders 50', 50". A pair of reamers 51', 51", mounted on the shafts 52 of respective motors 53, 53", confront the mold 24b at station B and are displaceable, together with their motors and shaft, under the control of a hydraulic cylinder 54 to enter the hats 48, 48" and to round off the edges of the frustoconical duct ends. The center holes of the hats are, of course, of slightly larger diameter than the longitudinal bore or channel of the workpiece 46, shaped by the tool 33, so that this tool cannot make a perfect seal with the lower hat 48" upon descending to the bottom of the mold as described above; the irregular burrs left between the tool 33 and the hat peripheries during the compacting operation are removed by this reaming step. The operation of the motors 53, 53 and the cylinder 54 is, of course, properly synchronized with the pouring and shaping steps simultaneously performed on mold 24a at station A. Cylinder 54 is mounted on a carriage 70 which is withdrawable over rails 71 on base 41, by a cylinder 72, and supports a vertical track 73 for the guidance of arms 74', 74" carrying the reamer motors 53, 53".

After the reamers 51' and 51" have been withdrawn, the [mold advances to station C where, as shown in FIG. 2 for the mold 240, it is swung into its horizontal position preparatary to being opened for the removal of the finished workpiece. A rod 55, hinged to a head 56 which is swivelably mounted on an extension 57 of mold shaft 25, is controlled by an associated cylinder 58 (FIG. 1) to swing open a portion 124 (FIG. 6) of the mold shell which is hinged at 59 to a complementary mold portion 224 secured to the shaft 25. This swingable mold portion 124 consists of two orthogonally adjoining side walls of the mold which complement the two remaining side walls constituting the rfixed portion 224. Pins 60', 60" on the two mold portions are engageable in confronting holes 61, 61 (FIG. 4) of the adjoining hats 48, 48 to keep the mold securely locked during filling, compacting and reaming. vIn addition, mold portion 224 is formed along its underside with end slots 62', 62" adapted to receive forms 63, 63" at the lower end of a pair of lifting arms 64, 64" which are latera] ly movable, toward and away from each other, under the control of a hydraulic cylinder 65 in turn supported by a piston rod 66 of another, vertical cylinder (not shown) whereby a pallet 67 of L-shaped profile, resting on the mold portion 224, can be lifted off the mold and removed together with the finished duct section 46. The lifting assembly shown in FIG. 4 [may be mounted, for this purpose, on a swingable overhead crane, not shown, which could be movably supported on the base 41 with the aid of rails similar to rails 71.

The turntable 20 is indexable in its three operating positions with the aid of a spring-loaded detent 68 adapted to enter one of three holes in the turntable and to be withdrawn therefrom by means of a solenoid 69.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 7-12 for a detailed description of the shaping and compacting tool 33. As shown in FIG. 7, the tool comprises an upper part or cutter 133 detachably secured to a slightly barrelshaped but generally cylindrical lower part or troweling head 233 by means of a nut engaging a threaded extension 76 on the hexagonally profiled lower end 34' of shaft 34. The cutter 133 carries two diametrically opposite helical ribs or blades 77, 77" which cut into the loose concrete mass above the tool 33 as the latter ascends during the shaping stroke. Rotating in the direction of the arrows shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, thus clockwise when viewed from above, the blades 77', 77" compact the concrete downwardly and channels it into a pair of adjoining peripheral recesses 78, 78" which are formed on the head 233 and aligned with the blades so as to register with the helicoidal flutes or grooves formed therebetween. The recesses 78', 78" have substantially the same pitch as the flutes and blades and, as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 12, are faired laterally into the outer periphery of the head 233, thereby camiming the compacted mass outwardly into the wall of the workpiece channel which is then smoothed by the solid bottom portion of head 233. A noncircular neck 79 at the top of head 233, fitting into a corresponding recess 80 on the underside of cutter 133, has a hexagonal bore 81 matingly receiving the profiled end 34' of shaft 34. This insures exact alignment of the tool portions 133 and 233 upon their assembly on the shaft 34.

The radius of curvature r of the generatrices of the barrel-shaped head 233 should be equal to or slightly less than the swing radius R of the tool as defined by its distances from the axis of g'udgeons 38. If these gudgeons are shifted to another locatioin along the groove 35, a tool head of suitably reduced radius of curvature r should be used.

The arrangement described and illustrated is, of course, capable of numerous modificatioins without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A plant for producing a concrete duct with at least one arcuate channel, comprising:

an openable mold provided with an open end leading to a curved elongated cavity which conforms to the outer shape of a duct to be molded;

support means for holding said mold upright;

a member swingable about a substantially horizontal axis in a plane substantially bisecting the cavity of said mold upon a mounting of the latter on said support means;

a packing tool having an elongated, generally vertical shaft secured to said member at a location remote from said axis for introduction into said mold through said open end;

hopper means adjacent said support means for feeding moldable concrete composition into said mold upon a positioning of said tool in said cavity;

first drive means for concurrently rotating said tool about the axis of said shaft;

second drive means for swinging said member together with the rotating tool about said substantially horizontal axis for arcuately displacing the rotating tool in said mold, thereby forming within said cavity a concrete body with a channel curved about the lastmentioned axis;

and actuating means for swinging said support means into said substantially horizontal position, said ing said mold for removal of said concrete body, said \mold having a side wall defining the bottom of its cavity upon a swinging of said support means into said substantially horizontal position, said wall being formed with marginal recesses traversable by prongs of a gripper for lifting out said body.

2. A plant as defined in claim 1 wherein said side wall is part of a rigid pair of adjoining side Willis, said mold having a further pair of fixedly interconnected side walls hingedly connected with the first-mentioned side wall for joint swinging into a mold-opening position.

3. A plant for producing a concrete duct with at least one arcuate channel, comprising:

an openable mold provided with an open end leading to a curved elongated cavity which conforms to the outer shape of a duct to be molded;

support means for holding said mold upright;

a member swingable about a substantially horizontal axis in a plane substantially bisecting the cavity of said mold upon a mounting of the latter on said support means;

a packing tool having an elongated, generally vertical shaft secured to said member at a location remote from said axis for introduction into said mold through said open end;

hopper means adjacent said support means for feeding moldable concrete composition into said mold upon a positioning of said tool in said cavity;

first drive means for concurrently rotating said tool about the axis of said shaft;

second drive means for swinging said member together with the rotating tool about said substantially horizontal axis for arcuately displacing the rotating tool in said mold, thereby forming within said cavity a concrete body with a channel curved about the last-mentioned axis;

actuating means for swinging said support means into a substantially horizontal position prior to opening said mold for removal of said concrete body;

a turntable carrying said support means;

and operating means for intermittently rotating said turntable into a molding station adjacent said hopper means and a removal station, said actuating means being operable upon arrival of said support means at said removal station.

4. A plant as defined in claim 3 wherein a reaming station is disposed between said molding and removal stations, said mold being provided at its ends with respective hats releasably engaging said ends at said reaming and molding stations, said hats being centrally apertured for the passage of respective reaming implements.

5. A plant as defined in claim 4 wherein said hats are pivotally secured to said mold for outward swinging about axes offset from the centerline of the mold in the direction of the center of curvature of said cavity.

6. A plant as defined in claim 3 wherein said member is an elongated boom having said tool suspended from one end thereof, said boom being provided at longitudinally spaced locations with a plurality of gudgeons alternately supportable on a base for selectively swinging said boom about one of several fulcra.

7. A plant for producing a concrete duct with at least one arcuate channel, comprising:

an openable mold provided with an open end leading to a curved elongated cavity which conforms to the outer shape of a duct to be molded;

support means for holding said mold upright;

a member swingable about a substantially horizontal axis in a plane substantially bisecting the cavity of said mold upon a mounting of the latter on said support means;

a packing tool having an elongated, generally vertical shaft secured to said member at a location remote from said axis for introduction into said \mold through said open end, said tool comprising at least one helical blade and a barrel-shaped head adjoining said blade at the free end of said shaft the maximum diameter of said head being smaller than the outer diameter of said blade;

hopper means adjacent said support means for feeding moldable concrete composition into said mold upon a positioning of said tool in said cavity;

first drive means for concurrently rotating said tool about the axis of said shaft;

and secure drive means for swinging said member together with the rotating tool about said substantially horizontal axis for arcuately displacing the rotating tool in said mold, thereby forming within said cavity a concrete body with a channel curved about the last-mentioned axis.

8. A plant as defined in claim 7 wherein said head is disposed at the bottom of said shaft directly underneath said blade and is formed on its upper surface with an eccentric recess communicating with a helical groove defined by said blade, said recess opening laterally onto the 3,465,394 7 8 periphery of said head and terminating in a trailing por- 2,530,687 11/1950 Dixon 2536 tion faired into said periphery.

J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner References Cited ROBERT D. BALDWIN, Assistant Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 2,143,448 1/1939 ORourke 25 -36 2.50s.293 5/1950 Powell 2536X 25-36 

